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Energy security
…demand; with rising air‑conditioner ownership and increasing temperatures, this value rose to 7 GW in 2024 and could further rise to 12 GW in 2030 without further efficiency action. If India were to experience similar heatwaves as in recent years – with temperature anomalies of over 4°C – the additional peak load would amount to 47 GW. However, if all new air conditioners in India were highly efficient (e.g. through increased minimum energy performance standards), peak load during a heatwave could be reduced by almost 9 GW or about 20%, significantly decreasing the risk of blackouts or brownouts. Need more information? IEA (2025), Energy Security.
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Economic growth
…impact of energy efficiency policies on macroeconomic performance still needs to be better understood and systematically measured, studies have highlighted some economic benefits:Growth in economic activityVarious studies have modelled the impact of select energy efficiency policies on economic activity and found a positive correlation. In Canada, an analysis of the country’s policy package at the time found that every USD 1 spent on energy efficiency programmes would generate between USD 4 and USD 7 in GDP between 2017 and 2030. In the United States, a study funded by the Department of Energy estimated that doubling energy productivity could…
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Health
…in an analysis of the Warmth and Wellbeing Scheme, participants report that the improved efficiency of their homes reduced the number of doctor visits by 50% and lowered hospital admissions by 40%.In addition to physical health, energy efficiency can also lead to improvements to mental health, thermal comfort, and safety: Mental healthStudies show that thermal discomfort and fuel poverty have negative mental health impacts – such as anxiety, stress and depression – and that efficiency improvements can improve this. The impact on mental health may be enhanced if combined with financial support mechanisms and strong community engagement.Thermal comfortRetrofits that include…
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Grid investments
…Implementing energy efficiency and demand response measures can decrease and shift peak demand to less congested periods when electricity prices are lower and there is less stress on grid infrastructure. Demand response has seen rising uptake around the world, but further electrification and demand decarbonisation are expected to significantly increase its importance. For instance, in Australia, where various mechanisms have been successfully demonstrated, the value of demand response capacity could reach USD 11 billion per year by 2042. Globally, it could provide up to 50% of short-term flexibility needs in 2050. Need more information? IEA (2024), World Energy Outlook 2024.IEA…
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IEA Guide to Reporting Energy Technology RD&D Budgets
…in alignment with the OECD Frascati Manual and clarifies the scope of public and private sector reporting. It also provides instructions for completing the IEA questionnaire, covering budgetary stages, metadata reporting, and common issues. The classification system spans nine major technology groups, including energy end uses, fossil fuels, renewables, nuclear, hydrogen, CO₂ capture, critical minerals, and cross-cutting technologies. This structure supports accurate data collection and policy analysis, enabling governments and stakeholders to track RD&D investments and inform strategic decisions. The manual serves as a reference tool to improve the quality and transparency of energy RD&D statistics globally.
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The State of Energy Innovation 2025
…milestones. It identifies areas where new approaches to policy support are being developed to use public funds more effectively, but also highlights areas where more efforts are needed to address barriers to scale-up and attract private capital. The report includes focus chapters on three dynamic fields, namely diversification of battery mineral supplies, application of artificial intelligence to energy innovation, and development of carbon dioxide removal technologies. The analysis provides a data-driven foundation to inform policy makers, industry and other stakeholders on the state of energy innovation worldwide and the importance of sustaining innovation momentum over the long term.
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World Energy Outlook 2025
The IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook (WEO) is the most authoritative source of global energy analysis and projections. Updated annually to reflect the latest energy data, technology and market trends, and government policies, it explores a range of possible energy futures and their implications for energy security, access and emissions. The WEO covers the whole energy system, using a scenario-based approach to highlight the central choices, consequences and contingencies that lie ahead. It includes exploratory scenarios that flow from different assumptions about existing policies, as well as normative pathways that achieve energy and emissions goals in full. The multi…
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Energy and AI
…transform how the energy industry operates if it is adopted at scale. However, until now, policy makers and other stakeholders have often lacked the tools to analyse both sides of this issue due to a lack of comprehensive data. This report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) aims to fill this gap based on new global and regional modelling and datasets, as well as extensive consultation with governments and regulators, the tech sector, the energy industry and international experts. It includes projections for how much electricity AI could consume over the next decade, as well as which energy sources are…
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World Energy Employment 2025
The World Energy Employment (WEE) report series provides comprehensive tracking and analysis of the global energy workforce, including estimates of its size and distribution across regions, sectors, and technologies. It also assesses how energy labour requirements evolve to 2035 across all IEA scenarios.The WEE 2025 – the fourth edition – examines how skilled labour needs and shortages have changed since the series first highlighted these issues in 2022, and explores their implications for education and training systems, wages, policy, and the global buildout of energy infrastructure. This year’s report introduces, for the first time, detailed occupation-level estimates that offer…
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Global Energy Review 2025
…demand for electricity rising almost twice as fast as wider energy demand due to higher demand for cooling, rising consumption by industry, the electrification of transport and the growth of data centres and artificial intelligence. Nearly all of the rise in electricity demand was met by low-emissions sources, led by the record-breaking expansion of solar PV capacity, with further growth in other renewables and nuclear power. Gas demand also picked up substantially, while oil and coal consumption increased more slowly than in 2023.CO2 emissions from the energy sector continued to increase in 2024 but at a slower…
- Key findings
- Global trends
- Oil
- Natural gas
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